my random ramblings

Tag Archives: japanese

Who could have thought there will come a time that I will get excited getting a new sampayan and laundry stuff?!

I am getting to old auntie level real fast.

Because I am seriously happy and excited about my new sampayan and sipit! A huge thank you to Kei for installing the fancy sampayan! woot!

*sampayan = clothesline, sipit = clothespin.

our tiny home improvement for the rainy days

Lately, I cannot do my laundry because I cannot dry the laundry! The rain is messing up my weekly chore schedule. Also making the daily commute back home a real pain. The rain also killed off my tomato plant. Making me hate it even more.

So, these days we dry our clothes indoors – mainly in the living room. Thankfully we have a small aluminum clothes rack to serve as our indoor clothesline. But I dislike doing that because it cramps up our space and it looks like we are having some kind of garage sale inside the house. Not to mention having the clothes so close to each other, it dries up a lot slower. Making it prone to have that damp smell.

That being said, Here is my solution to the damp problem: I mix in a bit of white vinegar with my laundry to counter the musty smell. *life hack* & also use a fabric conditioner.

Even with a sunny weather there is still a chance of my clothes sliding and clumping together on the clothesline. It is another pet peeve of mine.

This regular nylon string sampayan (clothesline) has to go. It has served us well for the past 6 months. -Due to the weight of some of our clothes(ie pants), all of the other clothes usually bunches up in the middle. Making laundry drying time uneven and longer. Some dries faster than the others and some that got clumped together in the middle stay damp for longer. That we end up pinning all the hangers to the clothesline. We had a lot of other issues with this too. -broken pegs and sometimes laundry knocked down to the floor due to strong winds.

We will still use this for another purpose.

I like my clothes evenly spaced apart for maximum airflow. That means a faster drying time.

So imagine my smile when I found this at Daiso last Saturday. It was an automatic buy! It is a nylon clothesline with spacers to accommodate the hanger/s securely and evenly! No more sliding and clumping together of wet clothes, plus I did not have to pin every hanger on the clothesline! I need not worry about strong winds knocking off my hanger and laundry down!

Leave it to the Japanese to think of weirdly useful everyday stuff like these. Genius!

Say hello to our fancy sampayan! (clothesline) -this was found at Daiso: 5meters for 88php

We also went to check out the new Miniso store and ended up getting new clothespins to add to our existing clothespins. We got it for 99php. Honestly, we have a lot of wooden clothespins at home, I just got the new clothespins for the hanging basket it has. Plus the color is nice. That has to count right?!

The color is really pretty! I also like the hanging basket!

So that is our tiny home improvement for the rainy days.

As for our standard laundry stuff: we use these nifty things to make our laundry workload easier. Here are the hangers we use daily.

On the left are the ones we use for our denim pants, to the right are the ones for shirts.

This is our collapsible drying hanger that is massive. (Sometimes I even hang my cotton shorts here.)

This is my lifesaver when I really need to dry our clothes indoors.

The green hangers above and the collapsible hangers are both of the same brand – JIGO. That was the brand my mum uses. It is sturdy, because it is made from quality plastic that makes it resistant to breaking. We got the above items from the almighty Divisoria.

I also love these expanding hangers that we got for drying our bath towels.

pull and expand!

Last but not the least are the laundry mesh bags for the small items. Just toss them in the bag and zip. toss in the washing and no more looking for the missing pair of socks! I also got the circular bags for washing bras so that the pads will not get dented.

mesh bags for the washing machine

The expanding hangers and mesh bags are both from Daiso.

So that concludes my laundry stuff.

*All my reviews, opinions, and other stuff expressed here are my own and based on my own experience. This is not a sponsored post, we paid for the products from our own pocket.

So, we got creamed by typhoon Mario, to lift up our sunken spirits we are looking for our comfort food/s. Specifically something Japanese.

It is no secret that Kei and I are huge fans of Japanese cuisine.

The food haunt I am about to share is also no secret. In fact it is very famous for its makimono.

I am talking about Omakase. This restaurant has a huge following and you have to wait to be served. But, we don’t mind.

We have kept frequenting the place.

Omakase(お任せ o-makase?) is a Japanese phrase that means “I’ll leave it to you”. (It is rooted from the Japanese “to entrust” (任せる makaseru?)). Usually used at Sushi restaurants to leave the selection to the chef. Customers ordering omakase style expect the chef to be innovative and surprising in the selection of dishes, and the meal can be likened to an artistic performance by the chef. Ordering omakase can be a gamble; however, the customer typically receives the highest-quality fish in stock at a less expensive cost than if it had been ordered à la carte. (Learned all about that from Wikipedia)

Omakase’s Makimono is not exactly authentic as they put their own twist to it. It would be safe to say that they serve Japanese fusion cuisine. For this restaurant, We would happily say “omakase” and leave the selection to them! But we have our favorites of course.

Here is a peek of their choices of their famous makimono.

this will give you a hard time choosing what you like to order.

We really took time to look at their selections as we liked most of them!

Their interiors are minimalist inspired and accented by cute kokeshi dolls.

We usually arrive here to get lunch, so there is a lot of people and we can’t really take a lot of photos. Sorry.

They served seafood dumpling (assorted seafood wrapped in nori, deepfried and served with mayo and soy sauce) and our drinks (raspberry iced tea for me, and orange iced tea for Kei) first.

Next came the jurrasic roll (Ebi tempura, ebiko, salmon skin, cucumber inside with unagi on top) followed shortly by the sukiyaki.

Kei and I were out for our usual weekend stroll at Greenhills when we found ourselves in a rather odd and very much interesting booth. This certain booth at the furniture area sells coins of different values and origin.

That gave us the idea…we could get our wedding arrhae (las arras/unity coins) here!

It would be cool to have coins from different countries we like to visit as our set!

We quickly looked/picked up the coins placed in the huge wooden bowl (seen on top of the for sale signage on the photo above) and after a while Kei chose these coins. We then paid for them.

while placing our coins in a plastic bag the shopkeeper told us one of the coins we got is a unique find.

Apparently Kei knows that the certain coin in question is a unique find, that started a fifteen minute conversation about coins that I know nothing about. (Extremely proud of Kei and I am a maximum fail on this one.) The shopkeeper even asked us is we were coin collectors too. (not really)

I then asked the shopkeeper for a sixpence (for my shoe). He said he doesn’t really sell them as those were his personal collection. (bummer) We learned that he is named Jun, is a coin collector and only keeps the shop to meet fellow collectors and further his hobby, he really doesn’t gain much from selling the said coins.

He then asked if we were planning to get married and those coins we got from him will be our arrhae, we said yes. (are we that obvious?) And he looked around from the albums of his own collection and said he indeed has the sixpence, and will sell one to us. (hooray!) In British or Australian currency. We really wanted the British sixpence but it looks really old and dull. So, TitoJun* suggested we get the Australian sixpence. -*we call him tito/uncle, as respect to an elder.

our shiny sixpence with a kangaroo and emu

And Tito Jun even taught us how to attach it to the shoe!

Currently we have 5 coins from Tito Jun’s shop, one Japanese coin from Kei’s brother in Japan. My best friend Joanna offered to give us one from Hong Kong. That makes it 7 coins in our collection.

Tito Jun’s Coin Booth is located at Greenhills Shopping Center, second floor in the furniture area. If you managed to drop by the area take a look at his coin collection, you might find something you like.

*All my reviews, opinions, and other stuff expressed here are our own and based on our own experience. This is not a sponsored post, We paid for this (from) our own pocket.

So, This is what went on after the walk. We (Me, Kei and Matti) had to finish lunch for 15mins. (Yes, that rushed!) And head back to the Malinta Tunnel to explore the laterals.

This is the map of the Tunnel.

Malinta Tunnel Map

The Malinta Main Tunnel Walk (lights and sounds tour) is usually taken by the tourists, I already did that on my fist visit to Corregidor, this time around I am going for the walk that only a few has dared to go. The Lateral Walk. See those thin lines on the map? those are the ones we are going for. This is not the usually suggested tour, as it can be really eerie inside. This is usually done at night, sort of a ghost hunting tour. But this time for us alone, they are going to give this tour in the early afternoon. So, Yay for us!

We meet again Malinta Tunnel. Let’s see the stories you keep.

I braced myself for this part of the walk. As I am very much a scaredy cat when it comes to things that concerns ghosts, haunted places and the supernatural. We were each told to wear hard hats, to avoid bumping our heads inside the tunnel as some parts of it have really low headroom. Then each was given a flashlight that would serve as our primary light source inside. By this time, my hands are clammy and there are some weird dancing butterflies in my stomach.

This is it! We are off. With our hard hats and flashlights, let the walk begin. I have to warn you a lot of dark plus orb photos in this post, I am only relying on the camera’s flash and the flashlight, so don’t expect nice photos here.

Entrance to the laterals of the tunnel. Ready to go in?

We then walked through a part of the main tunnel and we are now at the entrance of the lateral part of the tunnel. Here we go. I want to back down!!! (but must show my companions that I am brave.) It is very dark inside! and just on the first test photo I took, there is an orb.

Really dark inside… see the orb? (bottom right)

Too late to go back now. We ventured to the dark.

walking in. (that’s me in the striped tee, my friend Matti is the one behind me)

Inside the tunnel the temperature is really cool, and on some parts dusty, others damp. The guide now explains how the tunnel was made.

The guide explaining how the tunnel was made.

The Army Corps of Engineers (USA) rented obsolete equipment from Baguio’s gold miners for a nominal fee and used explosives (tnt). The explosive used is in powder form, and had to be wrapped into makeshift cartridges using paper, which were placed into holes drilled into the rock. Labor was by the the (1,000) convicts from the Bilibid Prison in Manila. A company of engineers from the Philippine Scouts worked on the construction as foremen and clerks.

Low headroom and slippery, uneven path. Yikes!

We are now far inside the tunnel. Here is where the low headroom and slippery paths are, basically the crude areas of the tunnel. Our guide also told us that the brown stains on the rocks are actually gasoline that the US soldiers placed to smoke out the Japanese soldiers hiding inside the tunnel.

dented gate (That’s my friend Matti in the photo)

Passing by the area we came to a gate, rusty and dented. I believe this was also burned with gasoline. A few steps more, we were told to stop. To look at this.

a charred piece of human bone.

That is one of the few remaining pieces of genuine human bones of those that perished inside the tunnel.

After seeing it, we are now crossing through the main tunnel to head towards the Fort Mills Lateral Hospital. (the 1000 bed hospital inside the Malinta Tunnel)

visiting the hospital

Going in. This part of the tunnel is lined with cement, the floors and ceiling are smooth and maybe light grey or white, but due to the low light, I can’t really tell. (We were told that the cement is Asada cement made in Japan.)

here is what it looks like inside, every tunnel contains 100 beds.

See the gated tunnel? that is the female nurses’s quarters, they placed gates for the female staff’s safety. They also stock morphine and medicines inside. Since the medicines are a few and everything is rationed, there are some soldiers who walks to these gates and beg for morphine. According to accounts the experience of the medical staff here is described as maddening. They are to always wear a smile when attending to the patients to keep the morale of the soldiers up. At nights cries of pain and moans of those near death keeps them awake.

inside the nurses’ quarters

Inside their quarters, the only stuff they have is a desk and a chair, and a couch. The basic minimum.

Then we are made to walk to the surgery/operating area/pharmacy tunnel. We only see the dark, but this is what the camera saw.

a lot of orbs.

A lot of orbs. And this part of the tunnel is also colder than the rest since there is water dripping from its ceiling and it is damp inside. I got goosebumps looking at the photos my camera has captured.

Lastly, we are to visit the ward.

the lateral ward

There are also orbs here, but not as many as those seen in the surgery area. this time we are made to turn off our flashlights and cameras and walk the tunnel in complete darkness, using the walls as our guide around the tunnel. To make us experience what the soldiers felt like before walking around these tunnels. (So no more pictures here) After a while we found ourselves back in the main tunnel and that was it. Its time to go.

I cant help but admire the courage and sacrifice those people (inside the tunnel) did. For love of country and fellow countrymen, for freedom and liberty.

I have much respect for them.

*There has been no ghost sightings reported in side the tunnel, only orbs. Caution to those that are claustrophobic, rethink if you really want to go for this tour. This is a spine chilling tour, not for the faint hearted. All my reviews, opinions, and other stuff expressed here are my own and based on my own experience with Corregidor. This is not a sponsored post, we paid for this (from) our own pocket(s).